Movie Telling Ocean County Detective's Pension Fight Set For Release

The story of Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Lt. Laurel Hester and her fight to ensure her same-sex partner received her pension after her death will be hitting the big screen soon, according to a report.

The movie “Freeheld,” starring Julianne Moore as Hester, the terminally ill Ocean County detective who battled the Board of Freeholders, is set to be released in theaters in October, according to the Asbury Park Press.

The report says a trailer for Freeheld has been posted on IMDb (Internet Movie Database). Hester, who was a criminal investigator with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office for 23 years, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at the age of 49 in October 2005. Hester, from Point Pleasant, died in February 2006, just weeks after the Ocean County Board of Freeholders agreed to grant her request.

Her battle to ensure her partner, Stacie Andree, received her pension gained national attention in the fight to ensure legal protections for gay couples and was documented in the Cynthia Wade movie that won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2008.

(Poster for “Freeheld,” the movie starring Julianne Moore, from the film’s Facebook page)